1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and a control method therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
A technique for executing a start program for starting (initializing) a device from a non-operating state to an operating state is known. A device including a plurality of types of start programs and selecting and executing one of the plurality of start programs is also known (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-179937).
In the device disclosed in the above publication, a plurality of types of start programs are stored in a plurality of read only memories (ROMs), and a start program is read out from one of the ROMs and is executed. However, providing a plurality of ROMs for storing the plurality of types of start programs is expensive, and also, a complicated and troublesome operation is necessary for exchanging start programs.
Accordingly, instead of using ROMs, large-capacity storage units, for example, hard disks, may be used for storing a plurality of start programs. In large-capacity storage units, however, the data read/write speed may be different depending on the storage areas, which may hamper the fast readout of start programs. With respect to hard disks, for example, it is known that the data read/write speed is lower at the inner area than at the outer area. In order to read out start programs from large-capacity storage units at high speed, the start programs should be stored in areas where the readout speed is high (i.e., the outer areas of a hard disk). If, however, all types of start programs are stored in areas where the readout speed is high, data other than the start programs should be stored in areas where the readout speed is low.